For several days we anchored in Bahia Conchal, a delightful little bay well protected from swell by the rocky reef at the entrance. We tucked in on the SE side and enjoyed some beautiful sunsets and rainstorms.
Sunset at Bahia Conchal, Costa Rica
But it was not all relaxation and fun when we discovered that our roller furling gear on our mainsail was not working properly. Without any manual to guide us, we spent several days troubleshooting the problem. Fortunately, Chris is very mechanically inclined and after partially disassembling the roller furling by taking the tension off the cable inside and sliding the sheath down into view below gooseneck at the boom we discovered the problem - a cracked and torn sheath around which the mainsail is furled. The sail had been furling with difficulty but the damage was hidden from view due to the boom so we (and the rigger who inspected the boat at purchase) did not see the damage. Very likely it had been cracked for some time and continued use, especially furling under load as when reefing during a storm just made the crack worse until it finally gave way and jammed.
A couple phone calls to riggers in the US and we had a good grasp of the problem and possible solutions. The good news is that we had both the tools and the ability to fix this ourselves! I had my jewelry making cutting tools on board, so I was able to cut the aluminum sheath all the way around and smooth off the bottom to remove the rough, torn edge. Next we tightly furled the sail and lowered the sheath and sail together using the main halyard. This placed the sheath in the correct location and alignment with the lower part.
I used the broken piece as a template and marked the sheath. Chris then drilled and tapped the screw holes so we could install the set screws. Finally we re-tensioned the cable and reassembled the entire unit. Good as new!
Sailing on down the coast to Tamarindo...
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